On-vehicle radar device and vehicle

ABSTRACT

An on-vehicle radar device includes a mount and an antenna configured to transmit a transmission wave from an inner side of laminated glass, which includes an innermost glass layer, an outermost glass layer, and an intermediate resin layer, and receive a reflected wave. The antenna includes a transmitting antenna. When the mount is mounted on a bracket, the incident angle of the transmission wave on the innermost glass layer is greater than a Brewster angle on the inner surface of the innermost glass layer, and the incident angle of the transmission wave on the outermost glass layer is less than or equal to a Brewster angle between the outermost glass layer and the intermediate resin layer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an on-vehicle radar device and avehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

Research has been conducted in recent years into areas such as collisionavoidance, driving assistance, and automatic driving, utilizingtechnology that uses radar to detect objects around a vehicle. In thecase of a car, the radar has conventionally been provided on the frontnose. A high-frequency oscillator needs to be placed in the vicinity ofan antenna and requires water and weather proofing measures, such asprotection using a radome (i.e., a radio dome), to avoid wind and rain.Meanwhile, more sophisticated detection technology has also beendeveloped, using both radar detection and camera images.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,604,968 proposes a radar-camera sensor in which a radarand a camera are housed in a single housing. The radar-camera sensor ismounted on the front windshield of a car forward of the rear-viewmirror. The radar waves used are either vertically or horizontallypolarized radio waves.

A multifunctional sensor unit disclosed as an external-field-of-vehiclerecognizing apparatus in International Publication No. WO/2006/035510also has an image capturing part and a transmission/reception part thatare mounted on a single sensor mounting board. The multifunctionalsensor unit is installed in the interior of the vehicle.

Radar waves are attenuated due to being reflected and absorbed by thefront windshield if a radar device is placed in the interior of avehicle. The glass shows a greater influence in the case whereshort-wavelength radio waves are used to improve the resolution of theradar. Also, the output of the oscillator cannot be increased becausethere are statutory regulations governing the output of high-frequencyoscillators that are available for use with vehicles. This consequentlyreduces the distance that can be monitored by the radar.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide an on-vehicleradar device, and are able to suppress or prevent a reduction in theefficiency of radio-wave transmission and reception when the on-vehicleradar device is arranged in the interior of a vehicle.

Front windshields used in vehicles such as cars are transparent andseemingly made of a single glass plate but are, in actuality, laminatedglass having a three-layer structure in which two sheets of glass arelaminated on inner and outer sides of a thin resin film to ensure thesafety of passengers. Conventionally, it was not recognized that theamount of reflection between the resin layer which is the second layerand the outermost glass layer is large enough to affect the performanceof the radar. Instead, it was thought that sufficiently accurate resultscould be obtained by treating the front windshield as a single glassplate for analysis purposes, as in the case where the front windshieldis viewed with visible light. Under this assumption, even if a personconsidered an idea of reducing reflectivity by optimizing the incidentangle of radio waves on the front windshield, the person would not havediscerned any advantages in adjusting the incident angle to be greaterthan the Brewster angle. If the incident angle exceeds the Brewsterangle, reflectivity increases rapidly. Accordingly, it was reasonable toselect an installation angle that is slightly smaller than the Brewsterangle because the installation angle could deviate from a predeterminedangle due to limited accuracy of a mounting process. The inventor ofpreferred embodiments of the present invention discovered that theassumption described above was incorrect and conceived that the amountof reflection occurring between the resin layer which is the secondlayer and the outermost glass layer is too large to ignore, and that itis necessary to suppress the amount of reflection in this area. Theinventor conceived of and developed various preferred embodiments of thepresent invention after having discovered that the reflectivity of thethree-layered glass can be reduced as a whole by making the incidentangle of radio waves on the innermost glass layer of the frontwindshield greater than the Brewster angle.

An on-vehicle radar device according to an exemplary preferredembodiment of the present invention includes a mount configured to bemounted on a bracket that is fixed to one of an innermost glass layer oflaminated glass, a rear-view mirror placed on an inner side of theinnermost glass layer, and a ceiling, the laminated glass including theinnermost glass layer, an outermost glass layer, and an intermediateresin layer that is sandwiched between the innermost glass layer and theoutermost glass layer, and an antenna configured to transmit atransmission wave from the inner side of the innermost glass layer to anouter side of the outermost glass layer and receiving a reflected wavethat enters from the outer side of the outermost glass layer to theinner side of the innermost glass layer, the transmission wave being aradio wave in a millimeter wave band.

The antenna includes a transmitting antenna configured to transmit thetransmission wave. A vertical polarization component of the transmissionwave relative to the laminated glass is greater than a horizontalpolarization component thereof. When the mount is mounted on thebracket, an incident angle of the transmission wave on the innermostglass layer at a center of a main lobe of the transmitting antenna isgreater than a Brewster angle on an inner surface of the innermost glasslayer, and an incident angle of the transmission wave on the outermostglass layer at the center of the main lobe is less than or equal to aBrewster angle between the outermost glass layer and the intermediateresin layer.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are also intended for avehicle that includes an on-vehicle radar device.

According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, it ispossible to suppress a reduction in the efficiency of radio-wavetransmission and reception in an on-vehicle radar device located in theinterior of a vehicle.

The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics andadvantages of the present invention will become more apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiments withreference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified side view of a vehicle according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of laminated glass according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a radar device mounted on thelaminated glass according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the radar device according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of theradar device according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6A illustrates a state of a near-field monitoring mode according toa preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6B illustrates a state of a far-field monitoring mode according toa preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates how a transmission wave enters the laminated glassaccording to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a simplified side view of a vehicle 1 according to anexemplary preferred embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle 1is preferably, for example, a passenger car and includes an on-vehicleradar device 11 (hereinafter, referred to as a “radar device”).

The radar device 11 is used for purposes such as, for example, collisionavoidance, driving assistance, and automatic driving. The radar device11 is mounted on the inner surface of a front windshield 12 of thevehicle 1 and located in a vehicle interior 13. The vehicle interior 13does not need to be a completely isolated space separated from theoutside, and may be open-roofed, for example. The radar device 11 islocated forward of a rear-view mirror 14 mounted on the front windshield12. The vehicle 1 preferably includes a drive mechanism 15 configured tomove a vehicle body 10. The drive mechanism 15 is defined by, forexample, an engine, a steering mechanism, a power transmissionmechanism, wheels and so on.

The front windshield 12 is fixed to the vehicle body 10 and locatedbetween the vehicle interior 13 and the vehicle exterior. The frontwindshield 12 is preferably made of laminated glass in which a film issandwiched between two sheets of glass. The front windshield 12 ishereinafter also referred to as “laminated glass.” The radar device 11is fixed directly to the inner surface of the laminated glass 12 orindirectly thereto via a mounting member such as a bracket. As anotherpreferred mounting arrangement, the radar device 11 may be mounted onthe rear-view mirror or the ceiling, for example. In the presentpreferred embodiment, the radar device 11 preferably is indirectly fixedto the laminated glass 12 via a bracket, for example.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the laminated glass 12 preferably includes aninnermost glass layer 121, an outermost glass layer 122, and anintermediate resin layer 123. The intermediate resin layer 123 issandwiched between the innermost glass layer 121 and the outermost glasslayer 122. That is, the innermost glass layer 121, the intermediateresin layer 123, and the outermost glass layer 122 are arranged in thisorder when viewed from the vehicle interior 13. The laminated glass 12may also include other layers as long as the above three layers areincluded as primary constituent elements. In the present preferredembodiment, the innermost glass layer 121 and the outermost glass layer122 are preferably made of soda-lime glass, for example. The innermostglass layer 121 and the outermost glass layer 122 may have the sameoptical characteristics, or may have different optical characteristics.The intermediate resin layer 123 is preferably made of polyvinyl butyral(PVB). The intermediate resin layer 123 may be made of two or morelaminated resin layers.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the radar device 11 mounted on thelaminated glass 12. Hatching in some of the detailed portions of thecross section have been omitted for the sake of clarity. As describedpreviously, the radar device 11 is fixed to the laminated glass 12 via abracket 16. The radar device 11 is freely detachable from the bracket16.

The bracket 16 includes two plates 161 and a connecting structure 162.The two plates 161 are located, approximately overlapping with eachother, and their front ends are rotatably coupled to each other by theconnecting structure 162. The upper surface of the upper plate 161 ispreferably firmly fixed to the laminated glass 12 with an adhesionmember 163, for example. Other methods may also be used to fix thebracket 16 to the innermost glass layer 121. The lower surface of thelower plate 161 is preferably fixed to the radar device 11 with screws164. The connecting structure 162 allows the lower plate 161 to berotatable about an axis that extends in the right-left directionrelative to the travel direction of the vehicle 1. This mechanismenables selection of the angle of the lower plate 161 relative to theupper plate 161.

The bracket 16 preferably further includes an adjusting bolt 165 and aspring 166. The spring 166 gives the two plates 161 a force acting insuch a direction that the two plates approach each other. The adjustingbolt 165 determines the position of the lower plate 161 relative to theupper plate 161. The monitoring direction of the radar device 11 in theelevation direction is thus determined accurately. Instead of theadjustment mechanism of the bracket 16 in FIG. 3, other variousmechanisms may be included or used. For example, a mechanism may be usedin which a plurality of different types of brackets that have differentangles of tilt between upper and lower surfaces are prepared, and abracket having a suitable tilt angle is selected according to therequired angle.

The radar device 11 preferably includes an antenna 21, a camera 22, acircuit 23, and a cover 24. The camera 22 is located above the antenna21. The cover 24 covers over the antenna 21, the camera 22, and thecircuit 23. The cover 24 is mounted on the antenna 21. The camera 22 isalso preferably mounted on the antenna 21 via a member, which is notshown. The arrangement of the antenna 21, the camera 22, and the circuit23 may be appropriately changed. For example, the camera 22 may belocated below or beside the antenna 21. The cover 24 may cover theantenna 21, the camera 22, and the circuit 23 in various forms. Forexample, the cover 24 may cover the whole of the antenna 21, the camera22, and the circuit 23, or may cover only lower portions of thesestructural elements.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the radar device 11. A mount 241configured to be mounted on the bracket 16 is preferably provided on thetop of the cover 24. The mount 241 preferably includes a flat surface242 and mounting holes 243. The flat surface 242 is in contact with thelower plate 161 of the bracket 16. The screws 164 are to be insertedinto the mounting holes 243.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the circuit 23 includes a circuit board 23 aconfigured to be mounted on the antenna 21, and a circuit board 23 b tobe connected to the camera 22. The circuit boards 23 a and 23 b areelectrically connected to each other. The circuit board 23 a mainlyprocesses signals inputted from the antenna 21, and the circuit board 23b mainly processes signals inputted from the camera 22, but thedistribution of these functions may be appropriately changed.

The antenna 21 transmits radio waves, which are radar waves, to theoutside of the vehicle through the laminated glass 12 and receivesreflected waves from the outside through the laminated glass 12. Thatis, the antenna 21 transmits transmission waves from the inner side ofthe innermost glass layer 121 to the outer side of the outermost glasslayer 122 and receives reflected waves that enter from the outer side ofthe outermost glass layer 122 to the inner side of the innermost glasslayer 121.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the antenna 21 preferably includes atransmitting antenna 211 and a receiving antenna 212. The transmittingantenna 211 transmits transmission waves. The receiving antenna 212receives reflected waves resulting from the transmission waves. Thetransmitting antenna 211 includes a first transmitting antenna 213 and asecond transmitting antenna 214. The first transmitting antenna 213 andthe second transmitting antenna 214 preferably are horn antennas, forexample. The horns of the first transmitting antenna 213 and the secondtransmitting antenna 214 preferably have the same height in theelevationdirection. The lateral width of the horn of the firsttransmitting antenna 213 is smaller than that of the horn of the secondtransmitting antenna 214. Thus, the first transmitting antenna 213transmits a first transmission wave that has a wide radiation range, andthe second transmitting antenna 214 transmits a second transmission wavethat has a different radiation pattern from that of the firsttransmission wave and a narrower radiation range than that of the firsttransmission wave. That is, the transmitting antenna 211 is configuredto transmit both the first transmission wave and the second transmissionwave.

The receiving antenna 212 preferably includes five receiving antennas215, for example. These receiving antennas 215 are arranged in thelateral direction. Each receiving antenna 215 preferably is a hornantenna. That is, every antenna included in the antenna 21 is preferablya horn antenna. The horns of the receiving antennas 215 preferably areof the same shape. Note that the “longitudinal direction” and the“lateral direction” referred to here are respectively a longitudinaldirection and a lateral direction that are defined for the purpose ofdesigning the vehicle 1, and are not necessarily exactly parallel orperpendicular to the direction of gravity.

Each horn antenna of the antenna 21 is electrically or spatiallyconnected to a structure configured to transmit and receive signals toand from a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC), atransmission line (specifically, a microstrip line, a transducer, and awaveguide), and a horn in this order. Use of the horn antennas makes itpossible to ensure a gain while suppressing the width of the antennas inthe height direction, and to reduce the forward projection area of theradar device 11. It is thus possible to locate the radar device 11 inthe vicinity of the front windshield without blocking the field of viewof the passengers.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the radar device 11 preferably furtherincludes an antenna cover 25. The antenna cover 25 is not shown in FIG.4. The antenna cover 25 is located between the laminated glass 12 andthe antenna 21 and covers a front portion of the antenna 21. The antennacover 25 is molded from a resin. The front surface, i.e., outer surface,of the antenna cover 25 is preferably black in color. This prevents theantenna 21 from standing out when viewed from the outside of thevehicle, and ensures the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle 1. Theantenna cover 25 is inclined at or approximately at 10 degrees from thevertical direction relative to the direction of transmission of thetransmission waves, for example.

The camera 22 preferably includes a two-dimensional image sensor. Thecamera 22 observes the outside from the inner side of the laminatedglass 12. In other words, the camera 22 observes the vehicle exteriorfrom the vehicle interior 13. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cover24 includes a camera window 244. The camera window 244 is transparent.The camera 22 observes the vehicle exterior through the camera window244 and the laminated glass 12.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of theradar device 11. The first transmitting antenna 213 and the secondtransmitting antenna 214 are connected to a selector circuit 311. Theselector circuit 311 is connected to a high-frequency oscillator 312.This enables switching between the connection of the high-frequencyoscillator 312 and the first transmitting antenna 213 and the connectionof the high-frequency oscillator 312 and the second transmitting antenna214, allowing high-frequency electric power to be supplied to the firsttransmitting antenna 213 or the second transmitting antenna 214. Thatis, the transmission of the first transmission wave and the transmissionof the second transmission wave is able to be switched. The presentpreferred embodiment preferably uses a frequency-modulated continuouswave (FMCW) system that uses a relatively narrow frequency band, and thefrequency of the high-frequency signal outputted by the high-frequencyoscillator 312 varies upward and downward.

Each of the five receiving antennas 215 is preferably connected to amixer 321 and an AD converter 322 in this order. The AD converter 322 isconnected to a selector circuit 33. The receiving antenna 215 receives areflected wave that is obtained as a result of a transmission wave beingreflected by an external object. A signal of the reflected wave obtainedby the receiving antenna 215 and a circuit associated therewith isinputted to the mixer 321. The mixer 321 also receives input of thesignal from the high-frequency oscillator 312 and combines the obtainedsignals to acquire a beat signal that indicates a difference infrequency between the transmission wave and the reflected wave. The beatsignal is converted into a digital signal by the AD converter 322 andinputted to the selector circuit 33.

The selector circuit 33 selects at least some of the five beat signalsand inputs the selected signals to a detector 35. The detector 35obtains position, speed or the like of the object by converting the beatsignals through Fourier transformation and further performingcomputations on the transformed signals. Meanwhile, image signals fromthe camera 22 are also inputted to the detector 35. Using theinformation received from the antenna 21 and the camera 22, the detector35 performs more advanced detection procedures of the type and state ofthe object.

The selector circuit 311, the high-frequency oscillator 312, theselector circuit 33, and the detector 35 are connected to a controller34. The controller 34 controls these constituent elements to implementthe detection operation of the detector 35. The controller 34 and thedetector 35 are provided in the circuit 23.

The operation of the controller 34 includes a near-field monitoring modeand a far-field monitoring mode. FIG. 6A illustrates a state of thenear-field monitoring mode, and FIG. 6B illustrates a state of thefar-field monitoring mode. In FIGS. 6A and 6B, the bottom sidecorresponds to the antenna side, and the top side corresponds to theforward side of the vehicle 1. A range 41 indicates a radiation range ofa transmission wave. The first transmitting antenna 213 and the secondtransmitting antenna 214 have side lobes that are sufficiently smallrelative to the main lobe. A pattern 42 indicates an antenna pattern ofthe receiving antenna 212. Reference numeral 421 indicates the mainlobe, and reference numeral 422 indicates side lobes other than the mainlobe 421.

In the near-field monitoring mode, the first transmission wave istransmitted from the first transmitting antenna 213 under the control ofthe controller 34 controlling the selector circuit 311. Meanwhile,signals derived from the five receiving antennas 215 are inputted to thedetector 35 under the control of the controller 34 controlling theselector circuit 33. By using the signals from the five receivingantennas 215 arranged at narrow intervals, it is possible to enable thespread of the main lobe 421 of the receiving antenna 212 to be increasedwhile sufficiently suppressing the spread of the side lobes 422. Thus,in the near-field monitoring mode, the azimuth resolution is lower andthe effective azimuth detection range is wider than in the far-fieldmonitoring mode, which will be described later. As described previously,the first transmission wave has a wider radiation range 41 than thesecond transmission wave. Thus, objects can be detected over a widerange in the near-field monitoring mode.

In the far-field monitoring mode, the second transmission wave istransmitted from the second transmitting antenna 214 under the controlof the controller 34 controlling the selector circuit 311. Meanwhile,signals derived from only three of the five receiving antennas 215,namely, the leftmost, central, and rightmost receiving antennas, areinputted to the detector 35 under the control of the controller 34controlling the selector circuit 33. By using only the signals from thethree receiving antennas 215 arranged at wide intervals, it is possiblethe spread of the main lobe 421 of the receiving antenna 212 to bereduced. On the other hand, the spreads of the side lobes 422 increase.

However, since the second transmission wave has a narrow radiation range41, the second transmission wave is not transmitted in the directions ofthe side lobes 422 as illustrated in FIG. 6B. In other words, in orderto detect objects that exist far in front of the vehicle, radio wavesare not transmitted in directions that deviate from the front side anddo not need to be monitored. This enables detection of the reflectedwaves in the main lobe 421 while suppressing the influence of the sidelobes 422. In the far-field monitoring mode, the azimuth resolution ishigh, and the effective azimuth detection range is narrow. Thus, objectsthat exist in the distance within a narrow range are able to be detectedin the far-field monitoring mode.

As described above, the radar device 11 executes two operating modesunder the control of the controller 34 controlling constituent elementsincluding the transmitting antenna 211 and the receiving antenna 212.The radar device 11 uses a condition unique to vehicles, namely, thatthe receiving antenna 212 changes the range of the main lobe, and theresolution does not have to be increased across all azimuths in thefar-field monitoring mode. This reduces the manufacturing cost of theradar device 11 while achieving both near- and far-field monitoring. Theradar device 11 achieves adequate near- and far-field monitoring at lowcost by providing a structure in which the two or more receivingantennas 215 used in the far-field monitoring mode are included in theplural receiving antennas 215 used in the near-field monitoring mode.

The antenna pattern of the receiving antenna 212 maybe changed by theselector circuit 33 performing weighing on the signals from thereceiving antennas 215. As another alternative, instead of using theselector circuit 33, a mechanism configured to turn on and off theactual receiving function of the receiving antennas 215 may be providedto select signals from the receiving antennas 215. In this case, themechanism configured to turn on and off the receiving functions servesas a selector circuit.

The near-field monitoring mode and the far-field monitoring mode areswitched at high speed. That is, the first transmission wave and thesecond transmission wave are alternately transmitted under the controlof the controller 34. In actuality, in order to avoid needlesstransmission of radio waves during computations, a transmission stopperiod between the first transmission wave and the second transmissionwave is longer than the transmission period of any one of the firsttransmission wave and the transmission period of the second transmissionwave. For example, a single transmission period of a transmission waveis 2 milliseconds, and the transmission interval is about 50milliseconds, for example.

The number of receiving antennas 215 arranged at equal intervals in thelateral direction is not limited to five. The number of receivingantennas 215 may be six or more if so desired. If the number ofreceiving antennas 215 is five or more, it is possible to use signalsfrom three or more receiving antennas 215 arranged at wide intervalsafter the receiving antennas 215 to be used are made sparse, and to thusgrasp the positions of objects that are located far away. When only oneobject needs to be detected, the number of receiving antennas 215 usedmay be two, for example. Accordingly, the minimum number of receivingantennas 215 included in the radar device 11 is three. The minimumnumber of selected receiving antennas 215 arranged at wide intervals istwo.

If there is no need to detect the positions of objects in the near-fieldmonitoring mode, the number of receiving antennas 215 to be used in thenear-field monitoring mode may be two. For example, three receivingantennas 215 may be arranged at equal intervals, with the near-fieldmonitoring mode using signals from adjacent two receiving antennas 215,and the far-field monitoring mode using signals from the two receivingantennas 215 at either end.

More generally, in the near-field monitoring mode, the firsttransmission wave is transmitted from the transmitting antenna 211, andsignals from two or more narrowly spaced receiving antennas 215 amongthe plural receiving antennas 215 are preferably used. In the far-fieldmonitoring mode, the second transmission wave is transmitted from thetransmitting antenna 211, and signals from two or more widely spacedreceiving antennas 215 among the plural receiving antennas 215 are used.To reduce the number of receiving antennas 215, at least one of theabove two or more widely spaced receiving antennas 215 are included inthe above two or more narrowly spaced receiving antennas.

The first and second transmission waves are vertically polarized wavesrelative to the lateral direction. The first and second transmissionwaves do not need to be exactly vertically polarized waves, and may bediagonally or elliptically polarized waves. More generally, verticalpolarization components of the first and second transmission wavesrelative to the lateral direction are greater than the horizontalpolarization components thereof. The laminated glass 12 is typicallyinclined such that the upper portion is located rearward of the lowerportion. Thus, the vertical polarization components of the first andsecond transmission waves relative to the lateral direction are verticalpolarization components relative to the laminated glass 12. Thisimproves the efficiency of the transmission waves passing through thelaminated glass 12. In particular, the efficiency of detection by theradar device 11 improves if the incident angles of the first and secondtransmission waves on the laminated glass 12 are close to the Brewsterangle on the inner surface of the laminated glass 12. Note that thevertically polarized waves are also referred to as transverse magneticwaves (TM waves), and indicate polarized waves in which electric-fieldcomponents are perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the planeof reflection such that their magnetic-field components are parallel orsubstantially parallel to the plane of reflection. The horizontallypolarized waves are also referred to as “transverse electric waves (TEwaves), and indicate polarized waves in which magnetic-field componentsare perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the plane ofreflection. At this time, their electric-field components are parallelor substantially parallel to the plane of reflection.

In the present preferred embodiment in which the horn of the firsttransmitting antenna 213 and the horn of the second transmitting antenna214 are arranged in the lateral direction, the first transmittingantenna 213 and the second transmitting antenna 214 are preferablylocated on both right and left sides of the receiving antenna 212. Byarranging the first transmitting antenna 213, the second transmittingantenna 214, and the receiving antenna 215 side by side, plural hornscan be provided in a single member. This reduces the manufacturing costof the radar device 11. Additionally, the orientation of each horn isable to be readily and accurately determined at the time of installingthe radar device 11. In particular, by arranging the horns of the firsttransmitting antenna 213 and the second transmitting antenna 214 in thelateral direction, it is possible to accurately match the orientation ofthe first transmitting antenna 213 in the elevation direction with theorientation of the second transmitting antenna 214 in the elevationdirection.

The first transmitting antenna 213 and the second transmitting antenna214 are preferably oriented so that the directions of the centers oftheir main lobes, i.e., the directions of the peaks of the main lobesare oriented in the horizontal direction. The first transmitting antenna213 and the second transmitting antenna 214 may oriented so that thedirections of the main lobes are oriented between the horizontaldirection and a direction that is inclined at two degrees downward fromthe horizontal direction.

The first transmitting antenna 213, the second transmitting antenna 214,and the receiving antennas 215 may be antennas other than horn antennas,for example. They may be any type of antenna that transmits and receivesmillimeter waves. Examples that can be used include lens antennas,low-cost printed antennas, microstrip antennas, and slit antennas. Notevery antenna included in the antenna 21 needs to be of the same type,and different types of antennas may be used together.

The following is an explanation of the orientations of the transmittingantennas with consideration given to the influence of both of theinnermost glass layer 121 and the outermost glass layer 122 of thelaminated glass 12. A vertically polarized wave that has entered anobject at the Brewster angle is guided into the object without beingreflected under the ideal condition. However, in the case of thelaminated glass 12, a vertically polarized wave that has entered theinnermost glass layer 121 at the Brewster angle enters the outermostglass layer 122 at an angle smaller than the Brewster angle, as will bedescribed later. The laminated glass 12 in this case reflects thevertically polarized wave at the interface between the outermost glasslayer 122 and the intermediate resin layer 123. Thus, if the incidentangle of a radio wave on the innermost glass layer 121 is made slightlygreater than the Brewster angle, the incident angle of the radio wave onthe outermost glass layer 122 is able to be made closer to the Brewsterangle. Consequently, the total reflection by the laminated glass 12decreases due to the decrease at the interface between the outermostglass layer 122 and the intermediate resin layer 123, thus improving theefficiency of radio-wave transmission and reception.

FIG. 7 illustrates how a transmission wave enters the laminated glass12. Note that the incident angle of a transmission wave indicates theincident angle of the transmission wave on an object at the center of amain lobe of a transmitting antenna, i.e., the first transmittingantenna 213 or the second transmitting antenna 214 when the mount 241 ismounted on the bracket 16.

In the following explanations, the refractive index of the air isreferred to as n_(a), the refractive index of the innermost glass layer121 is referred to as n_(g1), the refractive index of the intermediateresin layer 123 is referred to as n_(r), the refractive index of theouter most glass layer 122 is referred to as n_(g2), the incident angleof a radio wave on the inner most glass layer 121 is referred to as Oil,and the incident angle of a radio wave on the outermost glass layer 122is referred to as θ_(i2). The refractive indices n_(g1) and n_(g2) ofthe glass layers 121 and 122 are greater than the refractive index n_(r)of the intermediate resin layer 123.

First, Formula 1 holds true according to the Snell's law.

n _(a) Sin θ_(i1) =n _(r) Sin θ_(i2)  Formula 1

Thus, if the radio wave enters the innermost glass layer 121 at theBrewster angle θ_(b1) from air space, sin θ₁₂ can be expressed byFormula 2.

$\begin{matrix}{{\sin \mspace{11mu} \theta_{i\; 2}} = {\frac{n_{a}}{n_{r}}\sin \mspace{11mu} \theta_{b\; 1}}} & {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 2}\end{matrix}$

Since tan θ_(b1) can be expressed by Formula 3 and sin θ_(b1) can beexpressed by Formula 4 using tan θm, sin θ_(i2) can be expressed byFormula 5.

$\begin{matrix}{{\tan \mspace{11mu} \theta_{b\; 1}} = \frac{n_{g\; 1}}{n_{a}}} & {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 3} \\{{\sin \mspace{11mu} \theta_{b\; 1}} = \frac{\tan \mspace{11mu} \theta_{b\; 1}}{\sqrt{1 + {\tan^{2}\theta_{b\; 1}}}}} & {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 4} \\\begin{matrix}{{\sin \mspace{11mu} \theta_{i\; 2}} = {\frac{n_{a}}{n_{r}} \cdot \frac{\frac{n_{g\; 1}}{n_{a}}}{\sqrt{1 + \left( \frac{n_{g\; 1}}{n_{a}} \right)^{2}}}}} \\{= {\frac{n_{g\; 1}}{n_{r}} \cdot \frac{1}{\sqrt{1 + \left( \frac{n_{g\; 1}}{n_{a}} \right)^{2}}}}}\end{matrix} & {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 5}\end{matrix}$

Tan θ_(b2) can be expressed by Formula 6, where θ_(b2) is the Brewsterangle when the radio wave travels from the intermediate resin layer 123to the outermost glass layer 122.

$\begin{matrix}{{\tan \mspace{11mu} \theta_{b\; 2}} = \frac{n_{g\; 2}}{n_{r}}} & {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 6}\end{matrix}$

Thus, sin θ_(b2) can be expressed by Formula 7.

$\begin{matrix}{{\sin \mspace{11mu} \theta_{i\; 2}} = {\frac{n_{g\; 2}}{n_{r}} \cdot \frac{1}{\sqrt{1 + \left( \frac{n_{g\; 2}}{n_{r}} \right)^{2}}}}} & {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 7}\end{matrix}$

Since n_(g1) and n_(g2) are approximately equal to each other and n_(a)is smaller than n_(r), Formula 8 can be derived from a comparison ofFormulas 5 and 7.

sin θ_(b2)>sin θ_(i2)  Formula 8

That is, the radio wave that enters the innermost glass layer 121 at theBrewster angle θ_(b1) enters the outermost glass layer 122 at an anglesmaller than the Brewster angle θ_(b2). Accordingly, it is possible tocause a radio wave to enter the innermost glass layer 121 at an incidentangle greater than the Brewster angle θ_(b1) and to enter the outermostglass layer 122 at an incident angle smaller than the Brewster angleθ_(b2).

Using the above-described phenomenon occurring in the laminated glass12, the radar device 11 is designed such that when the mount 241 ismounted on the bracket 16, the incident angle of the first transmissionwave on the innermost glass layer 121 at the center of the main lobe ofthe first transmitting antenna 213 is greater than the Brewster angleθ_(b1) on the inner surface of the innermost glass layer 121, and theincident angle of the first transmission wave on the outermost glasslayer 122 at the center of the main lobe is less than or equal to theBrewster angle θ_(b2) between the outermost glass layer 122 and theintermediate resin layer 123.

Similarly, when the mount 241 is mounted on the bracket 16, the incidentangle of the second transmission wave on the innermost glass layer 121at the center of the main lobe of the second transmitting antenna 214 isdesigned to be greater than the Brewster angle θ_(b1) on the innersurface of the innermost glass layer 121, and the incident angle of thesecond transmission wave on the outermost glass layer 122 at the centerof the main lobe is designed to be less than or equal to the Brewsterangle θ_(b2) between the outermost glass layer 122 and the intermediateresin layer 123.

It is, however, noted that setting too high a value for the incidentangle of the first and second transmission waves on the innermost glasslayer 121 is not preferable because the reflectivity increasesexponentially when the incident angle is greater than the Brewsterangle. Thus, the difference between the Brewster angle and the incidentangles of the first and second transmission waves on the innermost glasslayer 121 at the centers of the main lobes of the first transmittingantenna 213 and the second transmitting antenna 214 is preferably about25% or less of the difference between 90 degrees and the Brewster angle,for example. This condition may be applied to only one of the firsttransmitting antenna 213 and the second transmitting antenna 214.

Note that the refractive indices for radio waves in the millimeter waveband have to be used when evaluating the above formulas since therefractive indices are significantly different from those at anotherwave band, which the inventor of the present invention observed at thewave band. The radio waves in the millimeter wave band referred to hereare radio waves that have wavelengths of about 1 mm to about 10 mm inair, for example.

The radar device 11 and the vehicle 1 can be modified in various ways.

For example, the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna may bethe same antenna. Alternatively, a single transmitting antenna that isprovided with a mechanism configured to change the antenna pattern maytransmit both of the first transmission wave and the second transmissionwave. As another alternative, a single receiving antenna that isprovided with a mechanism configured to change the receiving antennapattern may achieve both of the near-field monitoring mode and thefar-field monitoring mode. In other words, the number of antennasincluded in the antenna 21 may be one, and the antenna 21 includes atleast one antenna. It is, of course, preferable for the antenna 21 toinclude plural antennas.

The plural receiving antennas 215 may include antennas that are arrangedin the longitudinal direction, as long as they include antennas that arearranged in the lateral direction. For example, the plural receivingantennas 215 may be arranged two dimensionally.

The object on which the radar device 11 is mounted is not limited to thefront windshield. The radar device 11 may be mounted on the rearwindshield for rearward monitoring. The position to mount the radardevice 11 is not limited to positions on glass.

The vehicle 1 is not limited to a passenger car and may be othervehicles for use in various applications, such as, for example, a truck,a train, a plane, a boat, etc. In addition, the vehicle 1 is not limitedto a man-driven vehicle, and may be an unattended vehicle such as anautomated guided vehicle used in a factory.

The configurations of the above-described preferred embodiments andvariations may be appropriately combined as long as there are no mutualinconsistencies.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed in detail, the foregoing description is in all aspectsillustrative and not restrictive. It is therefore to be understood thatnumerous modifications and variations can be devised without departingfrom the scope of the invention.

This application claims priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. Section 119 ofJapanese Patent Application No. 2014-201870 filed in the Japan PatentOffice on Sep. 30, 2014 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-098991filed in the Japan Patent Office on May 14, 2015, the entire disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference.

The radar devices according to various preferred embodiments of thepresent invention are able to be installed in vehicles for use invarious applications.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scopeand spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention,therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An on-vehicle radar device comprising: a mountconfigured to be mounted on a bracket that is fixed to one of aninnermost glass layer of laminated glass, a rear-view mirror placed onan inner side of the innermost glass layer, and a ceiling, the laminatedglass including the innermost glass layer, an outermost glass layer, andan intermediate resin layer that is sandwiched between the innermostglass layer and the outermost glass layer; and an antenna configured totransmit a transmission wave from the inner side of the innermost glasslayer to an outer side of the outermost glass layer and to receive areflected wave that enters from the outer side of the outermost glasslayer to the inner side of the innermost glass layer, the transmissionwave being a radio wave in a millimeter wave band; wherein the antennaincludes a transmitting antenna configured to transmit the transmissionwave; a vertical polarization component of the transmission waverelative to the laminated glass is greater than a horizontalpolarization component thereof; and when the mount is mounted on thebracket, an incident angle of the transmission wave on the innermostglass layer at a center of a main lobe of the transmitting antenna isgreater than a Brewster angle on an inner surface of the innermost glasslayer, and an incident angle of the transmission wave on the outermostglass layer at the center of the main lobe is less than or equal to aBrewster angle between the outermost glass layer and the intermediateresin layer.
 2. The on-vehicle radar device according to claim 1,wherein a difference between the Brewster angle and the incident angleof the transmission wave on the innermost glass layer at the center ofthe main lobe of the transmitting antenna is less than or equal to about25% of a difference between 90 degrees and the Brewster angle.
 3. Theon-vehicle radar device according to claim 1, wherein the antennaincludes another transmitting antenna configured to transmit anothertransmission wave that has a different radiation pattern from aradiation pattern of the transmission wave; and when the mount ismounted on the bracket, an incident angle of the another transmissionwave on the innermost glass layer at a center of a main lobe of theanother transmitting antenna is greater than the Brewster angle on theinner surface of the innermost glass layer, and an incident angle of theanother transmission wave on the outermost glass layer at the center ofthe main lobe is less than or equal to the Brewster angle between theoutermost glass layer and the intermediate resin layer.
 4. Theon-vehicle radar device according to claim 2, wherein the antennaincludes another transmitting antenna configured to transmit anothertransmission wave that has a different radiation pattern from aradiation pattern of the transmission wave; and when the mount ismounted on the bracket, an incident angle of the another transmissionwave on the innermost glass layer at a center of a main lobe of theanother transmitting antenna is greater than the Brewster angle on theinner surface of the innermost glass layer, and an incident angle of theanother transmission wave on the outermost glass layer at the center ofthe main lobe is less than or equal to the Brewster angle between theoutermost glass layer and the intermediate resin layer.
 5. Theon-vehicle radar device according to claim 1, wherein the intermediateresin layer is made of polyvinyl butyral.
 6. The on-vehicle radar deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the intermediate resin layer is made ofpolyvinyl butyral.
 7. The on-vehicle radar device according to claim 3,wherein the intermediate resin layer is made of polyvinyl butyral. 8.The on-vehicle radar device according to claim 4, wherein theintermediate resin layer is made of polyvinyl butyral.
 9. The on-vehicleradar device according to claim 1, wherein the antenna includes at leastone of a horn antenna, a lens antenna, a printed antenna, a microstripantenna, and a slit antenna.
 10. The on-vehicle radar device accordingto claim 1, wherein the antenna is a horn antenna.
 11. The on-vehicleradar device according to claim 1, further comprising: a cameraconfigured to observe an outside from an inner side of the laminatedglass; and a cover that is configured to cover the antenna and thecamera.
 12. The on-vehicle radar device according to claim 2, furthercomprising: a camera configured to observe an outside from an inner sideof the laminated glass; and a cover that is configured to cover theantenna and the camera.
 13. The on-vehicle radar device according toclaim 3, further comprising: a camera configured to observe an outsidefrom an inner side of the laminated glass; and a cover that isconfigured to cover the antenna and the camera.
 14. The on-vehicle radardevice according to claim 4, further comprising: a camera configured toobserve an outside from an inner side of the laminated glass; and acover that is configured to cover the antenna and the camera.
 15. Theon-vehicle radar device according to claim 5, further comprising: acamera configured to observe an outside from an inner side of thelaminated glass; and a cover that is configured to cover the antenna andthe camera.
 16. The on-vehicle radar device according to claim 6,further comprising: a camera configured to observe an outside from aninner side of the laminated glass; and a cover that is configured tocover the antenna and the camera.
 17. The on-vehicle radar deviceaccording to claim 7, further comprising: a camera configured to observean outside from an inner side of the laminated glass; and a cover thatis configured to cover the antenna and the camera.
 18. The on-vehicleradar device according to claim 8, further comprising: a cameraconfigured to observe an outside from an inner side of the laminatedglass; and a cover that is configured to cover the antenna and thecamera.
 19. A vehicle comprising: a vehicle body; a drive mechanismconfigured to move the vehicle body; laminated glass that is fixed tothe vehicle body and located between a vehicle interior and a vehicleexterior; and an on-vehicle radar device that is fixed directly orindirectly to one of an inner surface of the laminated glass, arear-view mirror that is placed on an inner side of the inner surface,and a ceiling; wherein the laminated glass includes an innermost glasslayer, an outermost glass layer, and an intermediate resin layer that issandwiched between the innermost glass layer and the outermost glasslayer; the on-vehicle radar device includes an antenna configured totransmit a transmission wave from an inner side of the innermost glasslayer to an outer side of the outermost glass layer and receive areflected wave that enters from the outer side of the outermost glasslayer to the inner side of the innermost glass layer, the transmissionwave being a radio wave in a millimeter wave band; the antenna includesa transmitting antenna configured to transmit the transmission wave; avertical polarization component of the transmission wave relative to thelaminated glass is greater than a horizontal polarization componentthereof; and an incident angle of the transmission wave on the innermostglass layer at a center of a main lobe of the transmitting antenna isgreater than a Brewster angle on an inner surface of the innermost glasslayer, and an incident angle of the transmission wave on the outermostglass layer at the center of the main lobe is less than or equal to aBrewster angle between the outermost glass layer and the intermediateresin layer.
 20. The vehicle according to claim 19, wherein a differencebetween the Brewster angle and the incident angle of the transmissionwave on the innermost glass layer at the center of the main lobe of thetransmitting antenna is less than or equal to about 25% of a differencebetween 90 degrees and the Brewster angle; the antenna includes anothertransmitting antenna configured to transmit another transmission wavethat has a different radiation pattern from a radiation pattern of thetransmission wave; an incident angle of the another transmission wave onthe innermost glass layer at a center of a main lobe of the anothertransmitting antenna is greater than the Brewster angle on the innersurface of the innermost glass layer, and an incident angle of theanother transmission wave on the outermost glass layer at the center ofthe main lobe is less than or equal to the Brewster angle between theoutermost glass layer and the intermediate resin layer; and theintermediate resin layer is made of polyvinyl butyral.